Valois Burgundy

263 Pages·1975·7.123 MB·English

by  Richard Vaughan

By the author of
A History of Valois Burgundy
in four volumes:
1. Philip the Bold.
The Formation of the Burgundian State,
Longman, 1962
2. John the Fearless
The Growth of Burgundian Power,
Longman, 1966
3. Philip the Good.
The Apogee of Burgundy,
Longman, 1970
4. Charles the Bold.
The Last Valois Duke of Burgundy,
Longman, 1973
Richard Vaußhan
Valois Burgundy
Allen Lane
Copyright O Richard Vaughan, 1975
First published 1975
Allen Lane
Penguin Books Ltd,
17 Grosvenor Gardens,
London sw 1
ISBN 0 7139 0924 2
Printed in Great Britain by
Western Printing Services Ltd
Bristol
Set in 10 on npt Monotype Spectrum
Contents
Maps and Genealogical Tables vii
Preface i
I. The European Context 3
2. The Origins and Identity of Valois Burgundy 14
3. Sources of Information 32
4. Burgundy and her Neighbours 48
5. Rulers and Administrators 74
6. The Structure of Government 95
7. Military Power 123
8. The Court and the Arts 162
9. The Fall of Valois Burgundy 194
Select reading list 228
Supplementary Bibliography 234
Index 239
s
Maps and Genealogical Tables
Maps
Valois Burgundy - regions and territories viii
Valois Burgundy - towns and rivers in and near
Burgundian territory ix
Holland, Hainault and Zeeland 131
The duchy of Lorraine 134
The principality of Liège 140
The siege of Neuss 148
Duke Sigmund’s mortgages to Charles the Bold by the
Treaty of St Omer, 9 May 1469 203
The pays de Vaud and surrounding territories 205
The battle of Murten 217
The battle of Nancy 225
Genealogical Tables
The Valois dukes of Burgundy 4
The succession to Brabant and to Hainault, Holland
and Zeeland 29
Burgundy and Bourbon 61
Burgundy and Savoy 65
Burgundy, Cleves and Guelders 67
C. of
OLDENBURG
C. of
MARK
C. of
NASSAU
C.of
D. of
NORMANDY
RHINE
PALATINATE
wOrtemberg
C.of
CHAMPAGNE
ALSACE
Cof BREISGAU
FERRETTE
SWISS FEDERATION
VALAIS
O.of
MILAN
Approxfcnate border of the empire
■ Burgundian territortee
HHH under PhMp the Good PIEDMONT
Valois Burgundy —
Regions and Territories

Preface
My four-volume History of Valois Burgundy was not conceived as a
series of biographies but rather as a descriptive history of the
polity which, for want of a better name, one has to call ‘the
Burgundian state*. It was divided into four volumes coinciding
with the four ducal reigns of Philip the Bold, John the Fearless,
Philip the Good and Charles the Bold. These four dukes are called
Valois because they were descended from the second king of
France of the house of Valois, John the Good (1350-64). Their
predecessors in the duchy of Burgundy, like the earlier kings of
France, belonged to the house of Capet, and are known as the
Capetian dukes of Burgundy. This division of the larger work
into four volumes, one for each duke, was partly for conven­
ience, but also because of the differing personalities, interests,
attitudes and, less often, policies, of the four dukes. Each, in
fact, made his distinctive mark on history. But this division of
the work made it difficult to draw sufficient attention to the
long-term developments and also led to the repetition of dis­
cussion of certain topics at different periods. The aim of this
single-volume history of Valois Burgundy is to gather some of
the material and all the more important arguments and con­
clusions of the larger work into a form convenient for the
general reader and the student, neither of whom may wish to
work through the separate four volumes, still less purchase
them. Emphasis, throughout the larger work, was on the duke,
the court, the central administration and whatever could be
defined as general and Burgundian, rather than on what was
particular and regional. This emphasis has been retained, even
strengthened, here: we set out to describe a political organ­
ization, not to write the history of territories, regions, areas.
The scope of this book includes an explanation of how the
so-called Burgundian state came into being, an examination of
its nature and identity, and a description of how it was ruled in
terms of the personalities of the dukes and their officials, and in
terms of institutions. An attempt is made to analyse the role and
i